Luke 11
DOYLYChap. XII. ver. 1. In the mean time, when &c.] For further notes on this chapter, see the passages of St. Matthew’s Gospel referred to in the margin.
Luke 11:3
- Therefore whatsoever ye have &c.] Our Lord here Anne DOMINI 33. Matt. 23.12.
Luke 11:28
- — Yes rather, blessed &c.] It was no doubt a distinguished favour to be the mother of our Lord; but, though this could be the lot of only one person, yet, as our Saviour here declares, there is a far superior happiness, even that of heaven, open to every one that will attend to obey the will of God. Bp. Mann.
Our Saviour denies not the blessedness of her who bare Him, but informs us, that even this is low and little, when compared with the blessedness which flows from obedience to the commands of God. By hearing the word of God is meant, no doubt, all that reverence and attention of mind, all that teachable disposition of the will, which prepares and inclines men to receive it effectually. And, by keeping this word, is meant the continuance in what we have heard, and the making it the rule and standard of our lives; the believing all those mysterious truths, and the observing, and profiting from, those most holy precepts, which He has taught us in His Gospel. And this our Lord declares to be a happy state indeed; a privilege, infinitely exceeding any of the prerogatives of this present world, in which one man excels another. Dean Stanhope.
Luke 11:29
- — they seek a sign.] A sign from heaven. This
Luke 11:30
- For as Jonas was a sign &c.] As the preaching of Jonah to Nineveh, accompanied by the miracle of his being three days in the whale’s belly, and then cast upon the shore, was an assurance to them that without repentance they would speedily be destroyed: so shall the preaching of Christ to the men of this age, accompanied with His death and resurrection after three days, be a certain forerunner of destruction to those that believe not. Dr. Hammond.
Luke 11:35
- — Take heed—that the light which is in thee &c.] That is, Let every man above all things consider and take care, that the moral judgment of his mind and understanding be not corrupted with blind unreasonable prejudices, and with vicious and wilfully indulged affections; for, in that case, his very guide becomes his seducer, and his light itself is darkness. Dr. S. Clarke.
Luke 11:37
- — to dine with him.] The word here used in the original signifies the first meal in the day. The Jews were accustomed to have only two meals; the breakfast, (or dinner,) which was the slightest, about twelve o’clock; and the supper, which was the principal meal, after the heat of the day was past. Bp. Pearce.
Luke 11:40
- — did not he that made &c.] And ought ye not therefore to be as careful to keep clean “that which is within,” as ye do the outward man by frequent washings. Dr. Whitby.
Luke 11:41
- But rather give alms &c.] If ye would be really holy and religious, be careful in the first place to be exact and conscientious in the performance of those
Christ pronounceth woes against the Pharisees.
for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Luke 11:45
- — one of the lawyers.] The lawyers (called, in Matt. xxiii. 13, “Scribes and Pharisees”) were they who undertook to instruct the people in their duty according to the law of Moses, as divines do now according to the law of Christ. Bp. Mann.
Luke 11:49
- Therefore also said the wisdom of God, &c.] Therefore God, in the all-wise dispensations of His providence, determined to send, &c. Dr. S. Clarke.
Luke 11:52
- — ye have taken away the key of knowledge: &c.] By which the kingdom of God should be opened to men, and they be enabled to enter into it. Ye obscure and hide, by your traditions and false interpretations, those Scriptures which relate to the Messiah; pretending that other men, for want of knowledge of the law, are not able to judge of these matters, but must be guided by your judgment, John vii. 48, 49. Thus you believe not the Messiah yourselves, nor enter into the kingdom of God, which is now come to you and preached among
verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation.